Pynchon's obsession with the letter V

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

Three layers:
 
a) Like Lovecraft's "Y" (think Yog-Sothoth! b-but also Yyg..), only different.
Nevermind, the effect is the same: The more you get into Pynchon, the more you
feel this sudden shudder any time you meet the letter V, which also implies that
you never ever trust a (fictional Pynchon-) person whose name starts with it. 
 
b) Misogyn ... In plain text: V is for vagina! Recall, from the original "V"'s
V over Frenesi to AtD's Lake and all those short-skirted stupid chicks in IV,
Pynchon's picturing of women. (The exception confirms the rule.) And reconsider
the letter's shape! 
 
c) The political dimension: It's written against Joseph Goebbels. When Wernher 
von Braun presented his Flüssigkeitsrakete A 4, Goebbels immediately changed the
name into V 2, because he, probably correct as far as this goes, thought that no
one would feel fear of something named like an Autobahn. 
 
(WvB: "But Dr. Goebbels, it's not a rückstoßgetriebene Flugbombe like the V 1 ..."
JG: "Get the fuck out of here, the PR is my business!")
 
 
All three layers are interwoven and reinforce each other.
 
KFL